Forbidden Lust

I nodded, watching Hunter laugh with his two single friends, completely oblivious to the fact he’d hurt my feelings.

Dressed in black pants and a tight white shirt that showed off his muscles, I wondered if Hunter was really going to propose this summer. Goosebumps sprang up on my forearms, my arms crossing automatically around my waist.

My gaze remained on him, but as I imagined him on bended knee, another image flooded into view. Green eyes, brown almost black hair, taller than your average man, thickly built with a hint of a five o’clock shadow. The silhouette of Barrett appeared at the forefront of my mind. I twisted my lips, smiling at the thought. One day it would be him who looked at me across the table at dinner with those mysterious eyes.

Keep dreaming, Lourde.

Quickly, I shook away the feeling. Stupid crush. It wasn't like I could avoid Barrett, though he was at the house nearly every week for dinner with Connor.

A hand circled my waist, and I jerked. “It's just me. You look like you're miles away, babe.”

I looked down, recognizing the black ring on Hunter’s pinky finger and swallowed down the guilt. “I’m just unwell, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry about what happened before, hun. But you know how I can get sometimes. It was a long drive.”

“Of course, don’t sweat it,” I said, surprised by his apology.

“Uber’s here,” Dane and Grace both yelled, then smiled at each other. I rolled my eyes. They were so in love they even thought the same.

Hunter gave me a chaste kiss on the mouth before pinching my ass. “Sleep it off, hun, and maybe you can make it up to me later.” He winked. The taste of tequila and cigarettes lingered on my lips.

Pepper and Grace took turns hugging me.

“Girls… come… on!” Hunter's voice was curt as he stopped on the stairs that led from the deck down to the street.

“Go,” I said. The last thing I wanted was to set off his mood.

“We’re coming,” Grace yelled back and ran back in her stilettos.

“Call me if you need me,” Pepper said, feeling my forehead.

“No temp,” I said. “Just a hammer in my head.”

“Okay, go to bed. I’ve got my phone,” Pepper said, grabbing her phone out of her Chanel bag, then swiping.

Pepper’s parents and my parents had been friends since we were little. Pepper and I instantly hit it off. We both liked the same things—parties, shoes, and Sex and the City. Okay, maybe we were slightly obsessed with Sex and the City. Were re-runs still called re-runs if you watched them hundreds of times?

“Battery’s running low. Damn, I forgot to charge it.” A frown fell across her dark features.

“It’s all good. Hunter will have his.” I waved my hand in the air, trying to usher her out. “Go. Have fun.”

Three hours later, two Tylenol and nearly a gallon of water, my throbbing headache had completely disappeared. In record time, I’d showered, washed, and dried my hair and chose the perfect outfit for day one of my summer vacation in the Hamptons. Not bad.

Dark brown eyes accented by swipes of mascara through my lashes and pale pink lips completed the look with my teal green satin dress with a high slit and recent shoe purchase of strappy pale nude heels. I stared at myself in the mirror.

My voluminous sun-streaked, wavy hair fell to my mid-back as I pulled one half over with a nude suede clip.

“Hunter won’t know what hit him,” I said aloud.